Week of January 31st, 2007
There were a number of pretty good books this week, but nothing really spotlight-y, so we're just going to stick with fun sized reviews this week. Hope you found something good to read among the mostly scant offerings. We'd better get onward!
FUN SIZE REVIEWS:
Daredevil #93:
This is the last issue of Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark's debut arc, and, while it's offered the thrills of the Bendis era, the big reveal in the last issue, and this month's massive (if sensible) recall of most of the major changes of the last year kind of disappointed me. Still, it's certainly not bad; it's just not unbelievably good.
Walking Dead #34:
This on-again off-again book recently saw maybe the most violent single issue of a comic ever, and in this book Kirkman advances his story with a huge reveal that's sure to have huge fans of Walking Dead happy and excited; I know I am. Look for some big movement in the issues to come, and if you're at all interested in Walking Dead, be sure to pick this issue up.
Ultimate Civil War: Spider-Ham (featuring Wolver-Ham):
Regular readers of this column (hi again, Mom) probably know I'm a sucker for cheesy Marvel humor books. This one is no different, as it follows Spider-Ham on his quest across the Marvel landscape for his lost thought balloons. With some great art and good, snappy writing, you probably won't feel ripped off dropping three bucks on this one. That may not be a ringing endorsement, but that's always the biggest knock on spoof books in today's massive-event driven publishing environment.
Batman and the Mad Monk #6:
Now that Matt Wagner's masterly "Year Two" 12-part masterpiece is finished (that includes Batman and the Monster Men), I'd like to be the first to begin clamoring for an Absolute edition. If you were foolish enough to pass these by, please pick the trades up as they become available; I'll be sure to mention them as they come out.
52 #39:
This issue has continuations of Ralph Dibny, the Island of Misfit Mad Scientists, and Lex Luthor's storyline. Unsurprisingly, the Luthor story remains the most compelling, as Natasha tries to betray him with less than pleasant consequences (that won't do much to alleviate the labeling of DC's character handling as misogynistic). Looks like next issue features a big Luthor/Steel battle; I find myself, for one of the first times, really excited about the next issue of 52.
NEWS BRIEFS:
There are some fairly big news stories, and none of them are good. First, a trifecta of bad movie news. First, the news that Joss Whedon is off Wonder Woman, which will probably damage the movie's fan-cred. Whedon says he simply never meshed with Warner. The next day, David Goyer was canned from the Flash movie, and Goyer implied that the reason was that he wanted to make a good movie and Warner Bros. didn't. Finally, this morning, I read over on the Newsarama blog that Joel Schumacher wants to make a Sandman movie. Yes, that Joel Schumacher wants to make a movie out of that series. Hope it doesn't happen.
In comics news, Geoff Johns is leaving Teen Titans with issue 46, which is kind of sad. With BKV ditching Runaways and now this news, it's not a good time to be a young superhero. Fortunately, the capable Adam Beechen, who's co-writing Johns' last arc, will be taking over scribe duties.
TRADE REVIEW:
Teen Titans vol. 1: A Kid's Game
In honor of Johns leaving Titans, I figured I'd review a few of his trades. This first arc, which I luckily snagged out of the Pulp Fiction 50% off bin, has the first seven issues of his run, with a regular retail price of only ten bucks. This book is really Johns firing on all cylinders, giving credible and emotional depth to every character on the Titans within a very short space. If you read Infinite Crisis and went, "So what?" you might consider reading this series. I found myself caring about Superboy and Wonder Girl almost immediately; the book also features the usual amount of Geoff Johns-trademarked snappy and iconic lines, including a few from Batman and Superman. All in all, I find it very hard to find anything to fault about this collection; the writing is great, the art by Mike McKone looks good, and it's a great value (as well as an example of appropriate trade pricing) even at full price. If you can get it discounted, all the better.
That's all for this week; thanks for reading, and I'll see you next week for the super signing extravaganza (in case you live under a rock and only hear new via this column, Anderson Gabrych and Mark Andreyko will be signing at the store on Wednesday). As always, if you've got any comments, compliments or complaints, address them to skio84@charter.net. Or, you know, be all passive aggressive and keep 'em to yourself. See if I care.
<TOP>Week of January 24th, 2007
Well hello again. I don't really have anything interesting to say here, as usual, and it's a good week for comics, so we'd better cut the jibber jab and just get onward!
SPOTLIGHT REVIEW:
Wolverine #50:
This is the first issue of Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi's highly anticipated Wolverine run… so far, so good. Some of the best writing Loeb's done in a while, featuring a great fight scene between Wolverine and Sabertooth as the centerpiece, all accompanied by breathtaking art by Bianchi. This book is sure to make him one of the industry's most sought-after artists; true, the black and white previews did look better than the colored artwork, but it's still stunning, and Bianchi has the rare ability to draw fight scenes and still poses with equal attention and style. This arc, which examines the relationship between Wolverine and Sabertooth, is off to a good start; the only thing I worry about is the implication, at the beginning of the issue, that their rivalry may be prehistoric…kind of silly, when juxtaposed with the realistic, gritty writing and art of the rest of the issue. In any event, this should go right on all your pull-lists; yeah it's a buck more, but there's a backup story by Loeb and Ed McGuiness that's more or less worth the extra dollar.
FUN SIZE REVIEWS:
Robin #158:
Adam Beechen makes the very cool decision to start playing with some of the Seven Soldiers in this arc, particularly Klarion, the Witch Boy. I was turned off of Robin for a while by Bill Willingham's truly awful stuff, but the writing and art on this book now are both interesting; as a bonus, there's a great cover on this month's issue.
Eternals #6:
Now that Eternals has been extended to a seventh issue (or as Neil Gaiman puts it, the world's first seven issue six issue miniseries), the story finally doesn't feel rushed. I wish it had been a ten-issue series from the start, so that every issue could have had the relaxed pacing that this one did. Still, it's been a good series, and this is the best issue thus far, that makes it even more clear that once this series is done, we'll still be seeing plenty of the Eternals in times to come.
Silent War #1:
This is a very promising first issue, with David Hine's usual tight, un-flashy writing, and very cool, Inhuman-appropriate art by Frazer Irving. We get exposition and action, which is more than you can usually ask for in part one of a six part mini. Kudos to Hine and Irving; I'm on board.
Civil War: The Return:
I like Paul Jenkins a lot, and I don't see anything wrong with the way this issue was written, or with Tom Raney's pencils, but at the end of it, I was still kind of wondering…"What was the point?" The character that makes his "return" didn't need to come back, and I don't really see what use he'll be in times to come, with the exception of what may be a cool plot thread that Jenkins laid down.
52 #38:
The island of misfit scientists story has finally gotten something resembling interesting; the problem with 52's layout is that if this had been a miniseries, we would be reaching about the end of the first issue by now, plenty of time for a good set up. But with three and four pages at a time, some stories, like this one, take two full months to get to where I want to read more about it. The Question/Renee Montoya story continues to be both great and heartbreaking, and the Lex Luthor story is till great. I think the only arc currently turning me off is the Lobo and the Space Adventurers one.
NEWS BRIEFS:
The Free Comic Book Day titles have been announced, and there's a few cool titles, as well as something of a coup for Marvel, who have snared Phil Jiminez to pencil a one issue Dan Slott Spider-Man story for FCBD. Rounding out the other big titles are: DC has an "all-ages" Johnny DC story that doubles as a plug for Legion of Superheroes in the 31st Century, the new Bruce Timm series on Cartoon Network; A new Kirkman series from Image, called the Astounding Wolf-Man; the afore-mentioned Slott/Jiminez Spidey title from Marvel; Fantagraphics is publishing some unprinted Peanuts strips; and Virgin Comics has a free sampler coming out.
The New York Comic-Con has officially become a contender, and may usurp San Diego, as the world's biggest comics convention, in only its second year of existence. Stephen Colbert and Frank Miller have joined an amazing talent list, which already had Stephen King among its ranks.
Thanks for reading; I'm a bit late with this column, so it's already time to go get more comics! Awesome. If you've got comments, compliments, complaints, or any other assorted communications, send 'em to skio84@charter.net. Otherwise, I'll see you in seven!
<TOP>Week of January 17th, 2007
Well hello again; chances are this is going up at the same time as the last column, so…enough with the niceties, already. Let's get onward!
SPOTLIGHT REVIEW:
Fantastic Four #542:
So this issue doesn't, at first glance, appear to be spotlight-worthy, until you notice that, for the first time in a while, there's a new name on the cover listed as writer. Dwayne McDuffie officially takes over from JMS' much-snarfed at run. I am happy to report that, even though he's essentially coming in mid-arc, he does a good job of righting the ship. I like the dialogue throughout this issue, and it doesn't hurt that he's got Mike McKone, whose art I love more and more every issue I see it. Not a whole lot happens in this issue, however, except for a reveal of Reed's "real" reasons for helping Tony (this isn't a huge reveal, because I kind of thought these were his real reasons all along). Worth checking out, if only to get a glimpse of the future of the FF.
FUN SIZE REVIEWS:
Sensational Spider-Man #34:
I said in my last review of this book that I really think Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is elevating himself, month by month, into a special Spider-Man writer; I wish Sean Chen were a bigger or better artist to ease that ascent, but this one shot about the Black Cat is impressive again.
Ultimate X-Men #78:
There are legitimately some good fight scenes in this book; but, unfortunately, who cares? The Professor X loves Jean Gray reveal last issue was, frankly, kind of retarded, and the shock ending of this issue, which should be a dramatic and emotional moment, just left me shaking my head.
Ultimate Spider-Man #104:
Part 8 of the arc that won't die (it keeps going next month) rolls through, with a huge reveal about Dr. Octopus, and one I wished weren't true about Peter's long-lost father. This issue sees a great Doc Ock showdown, as well as a damn fine goodie of a last page reveal.The Spirit #2:
This issue is all about P'Gell, the Spirit's older, sort of more interesting version of Catwoman; I liked this issue, but Darwyn Cooke is doing some retroactive renovation of Eisner's characters here, and I'm curious as to how it plays with the older crowd.
52 #37:
Well, we finally find out who Supernova is, and it's…pretty cool I guess. If you want to be surprised in the issue, I suggest not looking at the cover for to long. I felt a little gypped by the story because of certain details they put on the front of the issue.
NEWS BRIEFS:
New New Avengers Roster:
Bendis has been on Newsarama every day for a week or so, revealing the all new roster of the (New) New Avengers, and it is (drum roll please): Spider-Man, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, Wolverine, Doctor Strange, Ronin, and Echo. It's worth noting the absence of Cap or Iron Man, as well as the fact that Echo has already been revealed as Ronin; Bendis has promised that it's a new Ronin, leading to frequent speculation that it's either Cap or Hawkeye, making a comeback. Bendis has also revealed that he has big plans for a semi-obscure BKV-created villain called The Hood. Should be an interesting series, and I can't wait to read it, or the new title Mighty Avengers. New Avengers 27 will have the debut of these characters.
TRADE REVIEW:
Absolute Kingdom Come:
Despite having a fairly solid "big, too-expensive book" collection with my fiancé, I held off buying this for a while because I'd heard from a few different sources that there wasn't that much bonus material. After looking in an opened copy at Borders (since they don't care about their comics, it's always a good place to sneak a peak before buying them wrapped and discounted at Pulp), I saw that this is flat out wrong. I count fourteen pages of extras in my softcover, and there are a whopping 124 pages of extras in the Absolute edition, including the usual Alex Ross sketches and designs. There is also an afterword by Ross' father, the basis for Norman, our guide in the story, plus a lengthy essay by Mark Waid and new writing from Ross. You'll also find several pages detailing all the hidden easter eggs in the book, a more filled out gallery, and a full script to final art breakdown of how the additional Orion pages were made (these pages appear at the end of the softcover but are inserted into the story in this edition). All of this great information, of course, doesn't even begin to describe the importance of having a book this beautiful in an edition designed to house beautiful books. This is one of the better Absolutes DC has put out. Now I just have to wait for Absolute Long Halloween…
It's good to be back with a little more time. Hopefully we'll keep the News and Trade Reviews rolling. Drop me a line at skio84@charter.net with any complains, compliments or other assorted comments. See you in seven!
<TOP>Week of January 10th, 2007
It was a sloooooooooow (read: bad) week, so you'll get more of my blabbering per review than usual. Whether that's a good or bad thing is up to you to decide. Hope the new year is going well for everyone; enough blab, though. Onward!
SPOTLIGHT REVIEW:
Thunderbolts #110:
Undeniably one of the more anticipated comics to come out in a while, Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato's Thunderbolts debut is, in my opinion, an unqualified success. Deodato's art is perfectly suited for characters like Bullseye, Venom, and Norman Osborn, Ellis writes a truly threatening Osborn, as well as a perfectly cocky Bullseye. Throw in the brand new Penance just created in the pages of Frontline, and you've got yourself a lot of potential. I like the first issue, and the second should give us a good look at the all-new, all-bad Thunderbolts in action against Jack Flag, a character Ellis made interesting to me in three pages.
FUN SIZE REVIEWS:
Justice Society of America #2:
Geoff Johns' greatest strength as a writer has been, for me, his ability to make a reader care about every character he's writing, whether that's Batman, Stargirl, or a character I've never heard of. That's why he's the perfect writer for JSA, a book filled with characters that few readers of the younger generation know through any other book. This issue showcases that ability, as well as Dale Eaglesham's increasingly impressive art; the last page is a must-read for any and all DC fans.
Superman and Batman vs. Aliens and Predator #1:
I read and loved all of the Superman and Batman crossovers with Aliens and Predator as a kid (especially Jurgens' Superman vs. Aliens Part 2), so I'm a sucker for ridiculous titles like this. You're either the kind of reader who scoffs when they see the name of this book, or thinks it's cool. There's nothing in this first of two Prestige issues to change your mind either way; if you think it's cool, pick it up, Ariel Olivetti's art works well for these characters, even if it does look like someone just played with action figures and photographed it. But I guess that's what this title is anyway…
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #16:
This last issue before Steve Wacker takes over Spidey sees a rather…anticlimactic battle with the Vulture, as well as some standard, boring fare for most characters. Not worth the pickup unless you're a huge Spidey or Peter David fan. The next arc features the soon-to-be-movie-star Sandman, so that should be worth a read.
52 #36:
This was a catchup issue, with two or three pages given to almost every different storyline currently running in 52. They killed off a character (or so it seems) in this issue that may surprise you, and I was surprised to find the Question still among the living, though maybe not for long. All in all, pretty good.
Catch up: Complete! Look for another column next (this) week with all the trimmings, including a hefty helping of news briefs and maybe a trade review. See you then!
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